Mike D’Antoni relying on Steve Nash to get him going at the Los Angeles Lakers – NBA Update
Last Friday, the Los Angeles Lakers decided to hire former Denver Nuggets, Phoenix Suns and New York Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni as the head coach, preferring him over the 11 times championship winner, which included five the Lakers, the legendary Phil Jackson.
The Lakers management has since made it clear that they made the rather unpopular choice because they think that D’Antoni’s offensive system was much more suited to the Lakers’ current roster than the Zen Master’s Triangle Offense. The weight behind their argument stems from the presence of Steve Nash, the iconic point guard who is perhaps the best pick and roll player of all times.
Nash and D’Antoni formed a great partnership back when the duo was in the Desert City. Nash won two regular season MVP’s there while Mike was named as the coach of the year in 04-05 after he led the Suns to a 62-20 record. That partnership broke once D’Antoni decided to make a switch to New York, and the fortunes haven’t been the same for both Nash and the coach after that.
As fate would have it though, the coach and player have united again, in LA of all places. And D’Antoni is looking forward to Nash, for helping him become successful again;
"I was just talking to Steve," D'Antoni said. "It's weird. When he feels better, I'll start to feel better. I've said it before, and I don't want to repeat too many lines, but I tried coaching without him and that didn't work too well. So, he's feeling pretty good, so I'm feeling pretty good."
Nash is presently nursing a fractured fibula, which he suffered in the season opener on Oct 31, and has caused him to miss the last six games. He is however expected to be back in two weeks at maximum. The quicker he gets back, the better it is for D’Antoni;
"I think he's going to be great," D'Antoni said. "I can't wait to get him back there. I think he's got another two-to-three years in him. He didn't have a whole lot of speed when he was in Phoenix, so he hasn't lost anything. But he's smart. He's smart. And he can play. Nobody works harder than him. We just got to get his legs back, and I think the people in Los Angeles will come to appreciate an unbelievable player. Unbelievable."
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